Metal cap or closure



Nov. 10, 1925- C. HAMMER METAL CAP 0R GLOSURE Filed Feb. 2, 1925 @info-f@ Q/w/ffafffm/ Patented Nov. 10, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES HAMMER, OF HOLLIS COURT BOULEVARD, QUEENS COUNTY, NEW YORK.

METAL CAP OR CLOSURE.

Application filed February 2, 1925. Serial No. 6,196.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES HAMMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hollis Court Boulevard, in the county rQueens 5 and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metal Caps or Closures, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to metal caps or closures for glass containers or receptacles and to the method of making the same, and particularly to that style of cap commonly designated in the trade as lug caps for use on glass bottles or containers having multiple or divided threads whereby on rotatingr or turning the vcap it will be securely locked on the container, the object of the invention being to provide an improved reusable metal cap or closure of this class having a plurality of lug formed projections of increased holding efficiency located at the lower edge of the cap flange or skirt.

One of the objects therefore of the present invention is the provision of a metal cap or closure having an improved form of locking or holding lug whichwill engage or gripthe threads of a glass container a considerable distance lengthwise of such lugs and grip the container threads with gradually7 increasing efficiency on the turning of the cap on to the container' thereby to tightly seal the container.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a metal cap or closure having at its lower edge a combined bead or curled edge and a lug of the improved form herein described formed from such bead or curled edge, the construction of the lug being such that it will draw the cap more firmly down creased or lengthened bearing surface upon the projection or thread of the container, so

that the liability of the cap lug scratching and thereby tending to cause the glass container thread to break is avoided.

It has been found in practice that metal caps having short lugs of practically fiat formation on the thread engaging side of the lug haveonly a-limited engagement with the container thread and consequently there are times, especially when the glass threads are not uniform or properly made, or of just the right size or formation, when the cap is not drawn down as firmly upon the upon the container and also give an incontainer as is desired, so that the cap in the frequent handling or shipment of the container, tends to work off.

It has also been found from practical eX- perience, especially when the glass threads are brittle as is sometimes the case, that these short lugs having but a limited bearing surface upon the threads of the container, when quickly turned on, cause the glass threads 0f the container to break due to the fact, as has been found by experience,

that as the cap is turned on, the lugs coming v into engagement suddenly at a small part only of the brittle glass thread, scratch and weaken it 'in the same manner as a glass cutter weakens a piece of glass by scratching, so that in the handling of the container thereafter and in the reuse of the cap, portions of the glass thread'break ofi'.

Itis therefore the object of the present invention to provide an improved locking or holding lug that will not only draw the cap more firmly down upon the container but will gradually engage the glass thread and have an increased or lengthened bearing surface upon such thread, so that the cap lug will thus engage the container thread gradually throughout a considerable length of the thread and be brought into engagement with that glass thread by gradually increasing efficiency rather than by sudden force, and thus obviate any mutilation of the thread.

Therefore the present improvement is an important one .when it is remembered that millions of glass containers are capped and handled per day and that frequently some have the threads much more brittle than others.

In my prior Patent 1,079,238 dated November 18, 1913 the bead was provided with relatively short locking lugs or projections having substantially fiat glass thread engaging faces and that cap has been a very successful cap, many millions thereof having been made, and in daily use, and the object of the present -invention is to improve that corrugations will all cooperate to stifen the cap and insure greater rigidity to the lugs than was even possible in the cap of the patent referred to.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification and in which one embodiment of the invention is shown, Fig. l is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a small size two lug metal cap of this improved construction, the drawing having been made from a cap about one-third smaller than the size of cap shown; Fig. 2 is a detail, inside, enlarged View of a portion of the cap illustrating one of the improved lugs; Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the cap in position to be turned on to a container; Fig. 4 is a crosssectional view of the cap and container taken on line 4 4 Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of the cap and container .illustrating the relative position of the cap lugs and container threads when the cap is turned on to the container; Figs 6, 7 and 8 are sectional views taken respectively on lines 6 6, 7 7 and 8 8 of Fig. 3, and illustrate the somewhat hollow' or tubular formation of the lug, this tubular formation gradually increasing from the entering end of the lug to the rear thereof, especially in the larger sizes of caps; and Fig. 9 illustrates in a general way the position of the cap lug and container thread when the cap 1s on the container.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Before explaining in detail the present improvement and mode of operation thereof, I desire to have it understood that the invention` is not limited to the details of construction and arrangement of parts which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, Since the invent-ion is capable of other embodiments, and that the phraseology which I em loy is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

.I believe that I am the first to provide a metal cap or closure having a combined curled or beaded edge and a lengthened lug formed therefrom having anv inclined thread engaging face, and which lug is formed from the bead, or curled edge in a somewhat similar` manner to that shown in my said prior natent, as by partially flattening or collapsing the beaded edge, so that it will gradually engage the glass container thread and firmly draw the cap on to the container and at the same time have an increased bearing engagecreased bearing surface thereon and so avoid any danger of mutilating a brittle glass thread.

In the preferred form thereof shown the cap when of small size is provided with a pair of diametrically opposite lugs but the cap may have any desired number of lugs according to the size thereof, larger sizes of caps frequently having four such lugs.

In the metal cap shown it comprises a top 2 having the usual depressed groove 3 for contact with a suitable liner 4- for sealing reinforcing bead or curled edge 7, and this i i bead is not only useful in giving a pleasing appearance to the cap, preventing the cutting of the hands of the user and providing a sanitary cap in that the raw edge is concealed and protected against corrosion and the action of the ele1nents,'but is particuthe lug itself, and also provides a means for forming the lugs therefrom at the lower edge of the fiange of the improved form shown whereby they have increased strength and bearing efficiency.

At several places shown as two, this reinforcing bead or curled edge is shown pressed upwardly toward the top of the cap and inwardly toward the center of the cap to form a pair of inwardly extending radialjlugs 8, the outer face 9 of which is substantially at the same distance throughout the length of the lug from the top of the cap, but the inner or thread engaging face 10 of which is gradually inclined or tapered in the direction of the length of the lug, so that thelug is thus of wedge-shaped form, the thread engaging face 10 being of less distance from the top of the cap at the rear end of the lug than it is at the front or entering end. In other words. the innerA wall or thread engaging face of the lug gradually lessens the distance between such face and the top of the cap, so that the lug is materially thicker at its rear end than at its front end due to the gradually increasing tubular or hollow formation of the lug. By forming the lug in this way it will be observed thatvit has considerable length and also sufficient width to properly and efficiently gradually grip the underside of the container thread 11 formed on a suitable glass container 12. y

In this improved cap lug when formed larly useful in strengthening the flange and in the drawings l in the manner just described, it will be observed that it has its outerface 9, that is its lower tace when the cap is on the container, smnewhat within the lower margin ot' the bottom or outer face of the bead and therefore not flush with such bottom or outer face of the curled edge due to the fact that the metal of the curled edge is pressed upwardly and inwardly to form the lug.

By forming the lug. of increased length, as herein described as well as of slightly tubular torni, at least at certain parts thereof, the lug is not only materially strengthened by this formation, but is also materially strengthened by the increased number` ot corrugations terminating above the lug and which may run Jfrom adjacent the top of the lug toward the top ot the cap, so that by the combined strengthened lug formed bead and the corrugations, when such are used, the cap can be made of relatively thin sheet metal or ot any suitable material and yet have suliicient strength and resisting qualities to resist any ordinary strain that may be placed upon the cap in the handling thereof.

Furthermore it will be observed that this improved lug engages the glass thread practically throughout the entire length of the long inclined face of the lug, and not just at a small part of the lug. The lug in practice will preferably have a taper or inclination that will substantially coincide with the inclination at the underside of the glassthread, which is not possible with a relatively flat lug, and due to the Way in which the lug is formed, it has a certain .resilient n' spring action when turned on to the thread of the container that will enable it not only to compensate for any inequalities or variations at the underside of the thread but will enable it to be easily applied with, as it were, a cushioning effect, so as not to scratch or break the glass thread, especially when this is of brittle construction.

By actual tests, the cap turns on veryV easily and with a gradual gripping effect and without any sudden or harsh action upon the glass thread, and although it can be turned ott easily it l ,rriliisthe thread thoroughly so that the cap will not jar oft1 in the ordinary handling of the container, while the cap is effectively drawn down to insure a tight `=eal between the liner au d the mouth or upper edge of the container.

In some forms of glass containers the threads may have a stop face 13 (see Fig. 9)

formed by or adjacent to the seam of the glass which serves to limit the turning on of the cap and prevent the distortionot the cap and its lug.

The eiiciency of the cap has been so thoroughly demonstrated that the demand for it is not only very large but is daily increasing It is to be understood that by describing iu detail herein any particular form, structure or arrangement, it vis not intended to limit the invention beyond the terms of the several claims or theJ requirements of the prior art.

Having thus explained the nature of my said invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made., or all of the modes of its use, I claim:

1. A metal closure for glass containers, comprising a. top having a depending skirt provided with a beaded or curled lower edge flattened or pressed upwardly and inwardly to form a relatively long inwardly extending locking lug having its inner face inclined to the top of the cap.

2. A metal closure for glass containers, comprising a top having a depending skirt provided with a beaded or curled lower edge flattened or pressed upwardly and inwardly to form a relatively long inwardly extending locking lug having its inner -face inclined to the top oi" the cap and its outer face inside the outer margin of such curled edge.

A metal closure for glass containers comprising a top having a depending reinforced or corrugated skirt'provided with a curled or beaded lower edge, said curled edge being lattened at intervals to provide instruck relatively long locking lugs, the inner face, of which is inclined and the outer Jface. of which is within the outer margin of the curled edge.

1l. The method of making metal caps for glass containers, which consists in forming a cap having a top provided with a depending skirt or ange, curling the lower edge thereof, and compressing such curled edge inwardly toward the top and toward the center of the cap to form a relatively long lug having an inclined glass tl'nead-engaging face and an outer face inside the outer margin of the curled edge.

Signed at Brooklyn, New York, this 29th day of January 1925.

CHARLES H AMMER. 

